Good looking starter bundle. Should handle that 2600 up to around 4ghz on all cores using the stock cooler no problem, and will be an excellent foundation for a budget build. Add a cheap GPU like the GTX1060 3gb linked below, a budget case and a 500w PSU, and maybe a 1tb drive for storage and you're good to go for entry level 1080p gaming, streaming, and even video editing (especially if you go for the 16gb option).

This bundle is still cheaper than buying all of the parts separately at their very cheapest price from random retailers, and you only pay for shipping once, plus you purchase from OCUK who are a great retailer in my experience.

Good price, though you won't get 4GHz on the stock cooler (Wraith …Good price, though you won't get 4GHz on the stock cooler (Wraith Stealth); 3.7GHz all core OC at a stretch. (And even then you'll be running dangerously hot in any stress tests)

No chance that 'Free' SSD's worth £36 much less £80. Better off buying s …No chance that 'Free' SSD's worth £36 much less £80. Better off buying separately elsewhere.

"Better off buying separately elsewhere."?

Nope. I looked. Still cheaper in the bundle.

*Edit - and that SSD is decent entry level. About the same as the Kingston A400 and SanDisk equivalent level drives in my eyes, maybe very slightly behind the WD green drives which are very average compared to their public perception (marketing and brand recognition works wonders).

Good price, though you won't get 4GHz on the stock cooler (Wraith …Good price, though you won't get 4GHz on the stock cooler (Wraith Stealth); 3.7GHz all core OC at a stretch. (And even then you'll be running dangerously hot in any stress tests)

Not quite ...

//"As for overclocking with the box cooler I was able to reach 4 GHz using 1.23 volts, but did hit a temperature of 87 degrees in the Blender stress test after an hour. For gaming you could afford to push things a little further but if you’re doing any kind of heavy workloads 4 GHz is the same limit."//

I'd personally avoid the SSD and RAM brand. The 2600 is a solid CPU. I …I'd personally avoid the SSD and RAM brand. The 2600 is a solid CPU. I don't know much about the Gaming 3 motherboard, I do however know that the Intel Gaming 3 model has VRM issues.

Team Group make excellent ram. I've got their Samsung Bdie kit and it's …Team Group make excellent ram. I've got their Samsung Bdie kit and it's cracking. You're totally wrong there.The Gaming 3 won't push an R7 to its limits, but it'll handle this 65w 2600 with a small overclock just fine.

I hate to correct you but I couldn't possibly be wrong, it's an opinion regarding the SSD and RAM. I did state "I'd personally avoid the SSD and RAM brand".

They're plenty good for budget parts. You can get better by spending more, …They're plenty good for budget parts. You can get better by spending more, but you can't get better spending the same, and you can't spend less for the same level parts, so ...

I guess the main part for me is the motherboard, everything else can be replaced after a year or so, the motherboard pretty much defines the rest of the parts that you can attach to it.

9th Jun

Good solid bundle if the budget is tightish - gives you a bit more to spend where it really counts on a gaming build - the graphics card!

9th Jun

the deal is ok. I wonder if they have somthing for the 1700 x or 2700x (Preoder)

Good solid bundle if the budget is tightish - gives you a bit more to …Good solid bundle if the budget is tightish - gives you a bit more to spend where it really counts on a gaming build - the graphics card!

Agreed, with gfx prices the way they are

9th Jun

Hmmm am wondering if Intel will be bringing out a 8 core this this or to wait for ryzen 3000 12 cores rumored

I hate to correct you but I couldn't possibly be wrong, it's an opinion …I hate to correct you but I couldn't possibly be wrong, it's an opinion regarding the SSD and RAM. I did state "I'd personally avoid the SSD and RAM brand".

Oh come now, don't lie. You love to correct me!

Okay sure, your personal opinion is fine and valid. It does carry inherent implications to the reader though, so to make it more contextually valid for the less experienced reader we could say:

"I'd personally avoid the SSD and RAM brand, even though there's objectively no reason for such, and a Team Group 3000mhz cl16 hynix kit is basically identical to a Corsair one, as they use the exact same memory ICs."

(I'm not sure which chips they're using in that SSD but it's going to be the same situation, using the same chips as the other mid range or budget name branded models).

I guess the main part for me is the motherboard, everything else can be …I guess the main part for me is the motherboard, everything else can be replaced after a year or so, the motherboard pretty much defines the rest of the parts that you can attach to it.

Yeah, that's fair, but we're talking about a budget build here. A full rig with a gtx1060 like I parted out for £690? If your budget is say £800 including a monitor and you were looking at an i3 8100 build with similar specs then this gets you up a tier in CPU, for example.

It doesn't suit every builder, but the entire platform ready for only £70 more than I spent on my CPU alone implies a very different buying model.

Nah - the new chips are backwards compatible with 1st gen motherboards and the only feature missing is StorageMi or whatever it's called.

I've got a 2700x on an x370. Works great.

9th Jun

The deal is not bad, but the RAM and SSD is not the best ones out there, £63 can get you a 250gb Crucial MX500 SSD which is arguably quite a bit better than the one in this deal. Similar applies to RAM if you shop around. Heat added though.

Oh come now, don't lie. You love to correct me! Okay sure, your …Oh come now, don't lie. You love to correct me! Okay sure, your personal opinion is fine and valid. It does carry inherent implications to the reader though, so to make it more contextually valid for the less experienced reader we could say:"I'd personally avoid the SSD and RAM brand, even though there's objectively no reason for such, and a Team Group 3000mhz cl16 hynix kit is basically identical to a Corsair one, as they use the exact same memory ICs."(I'm not sure which chips they're using in that SSD but it's going to be the same situation, using the same chips as the other mid range or budget name branded models).

I'm not going to split hairs with you, nor do I have time

Both of my previous comments remain valid especially when I have had positive RMA's with both Samsung and Corsair. I would rather stick with a brand where I know their aftercare is above average, in my opinion.

The deal is not bad, but the RAM and SSD is not the best ones out there, …The deal is not bad, but the RAM and SSD is not the best ones out there, £63 can get you a 250gb Crucial MX500 SSD which is arguably quite a bit better than the one in this deal. Similar applies to RAM if you shop around. Heat added though.

I had a crack at it, and this is the best I could do without taking the price up further than the cost of these parts individually. You really don't get that much more for your money. In fact, apart from some brand recognition for the SSD and the "big 4 phase" vrms on the motherboard, you don't get anything else. The RAM is the exact same ICs just higher clocked and you're not going to get anything better than Hynix 3000 cl16 kits which overclock to 3200/3333 or 3200 kits which overclock to 3333/3466 (though any 1st gen motherboard in this price range will have trouble pushing over 3200 regardless) without spending significantly more.

I'm not going to split hairs with you, nor do I have time Both of my …I'm not going to split hairs with you, nor do I have time Both of my previous comments remain valid especially when I have had positive RMA's with both Samsung and Corsair. I would rather stick with a brand where I know their aftercare is above average, in my opinion.

So it's basically that you don't like Team Group as a brand, even though Samsung don't make memory sticks/kits directly anymore, Corsair use the exact same ICs as Team Group, and OCUK offer a lifetime warranty on Team Group RAM?

Yeah, your comments remain valid, and my contextual amendment is still important to interject before false implications are put forth without justification.

*Edit - I caught that you meant Samsung for the SSD, which is fair, though a much more expensive and different league for SSDs too. Comparing the components against more expensive ones is only valid for those willing to spend the extra for the brands they're attached to (even if the internal components are basically identical).

I had a crack at it, and this is the best I could do without taking the …I had a crack at it, and this is the best I could do without taking the price up further than the cost of these parts individually. You really don't get that much more for your money. In fact, apart from some brand recognition for the SSD and the "big 4 phase" vrms on the motherboard, you don't get anything else. The RAM is the exact same ICs just higher clocked and you're not going to get anything better than Hynix 3000 cl16 kits which overclock to 3200/3333 or 3200 kits which overclock to 3333/3466 (though any 1st gen motherboard in this price range will have trouble pushing over 3200 regardless) without spending significantly more.

Point taken, as I said it's not a bad deal at all, what I meant by shopping around is getting all the parts separately with all the weekly deals that pop up on here and not all in one go. Obviously it's a not a bad deal at all if you need all the parts instantly. MX500 was as cheap as £56 recently and then there's WD Green 240GB available for £45 from eBuyer. I believe I've seen DDR4 2x4GB sticks for £67 a few days ago but they might have been clocked at lower speed.

9th Jun

anyone know what this would be like for running a plex server with possible transcoding of 3 stream?aslo with 6TB red wd drives for the content

Point taken, as I said it's not a bad deal at all, what I meant by …Point taken, as I said it's not a bad deal at all, what I meant by shopping around is getting all the parts separately with all the weekly deals that pop up on here and not all in one go. Obviously it's a not a bad deal at all if you need all the parts instantly. MX500 was as cheap as £56 recently and then there's WD Green 240GB available for £45 from eBuyer. I believe I've seen DDR4 2x4GB sticks for £67 a few days ago but they might have been clocked at lower speed.

If you really bargain hunted and waited for cracking deals, you could probably get the same stuff for another £20 less, in time. Days? Weeks? Months?

Yeah, it's true, and for some that's the best way to go.

I agree re: the parts, but I'm not adverse to Team Group at all. They make really good stuff now. I would bet that the chips inside a WD Green SSD are on the same level, possibly even the same model as the ones in that Team Group model.

Team buy in the same components as Corsair and Gskill for RAM, and I presume the same for their SSDs, then just assemble their own products using their PCBs (and probably not always even those). They make some really high end RAM kits, and seem to occupy a solid budget/midrange space for the rest ... But not dropping down into the proper "Chinese crap knock-off" stuff at the bottom of the barrel. Their reputation is building and well deserved.

If you really bargain hunted and waited for cracking deals, you could …If you really bargain hunted and waited for cracking deals, you could probably get the same stuff for another £20 less, in time. Days? Weeks? Months?Yeah, it's true, and for some that's the best way to go. I agree re: the parts, but I'm not adverse to Team Group at all. They make really good stuff now. I would bet that the chips inside a WD Green SSD are on the same level, possibly even the same model as the ones in that Team Group model. Team buy in the same components as Corsair and Gskill for RAM, and I presume the same for their SSDs, then just assemble their own products using their PCBs (and probably not always even those). They make some really high end RAM kits, and seem to occupy a solid budget/midrange space for the rest ... But not dropping down into the proper "Chinese crap knock-off" stuff at the bottom of the barrel. Their reputation is building and well deserved.

Personally I've never heard of them before, but as you said budget is not necessary equals bad. It's a good deal for someone who wants the parts now and your recommendations for a case, psu and gpu are good as well I just wonder if x370 comes pre-flashed with recent bios since it comes with 5 2600 cpu.

Personally I've never heard of them before, but as you said budget is not …Personally I've never heard of them before, but as you said budget is not necessary equals bad. It's a good deal for someone who wants the parts now and your recommendations for a case, psu and gpu are good as well I just wonder if x370 comes pre-flashed with recent bios since it comes with 5 2600 cpu.

And then being never heard of is probably why so many people vote their products down and would prefer Corsair, even though they're basically identical for their ram kits (hynix based at least).

8pack, the overclocker and guy who does the custom builds and overclocking bundles for OCUK uses Team Group Samsung Bdie ram all the time. They're some of the best you can get.

Also, re: the x370 - that's why this is a great bundle. I'm assuming OCUK got a new batch of updated x370 gaming 3 motherboards which are Zen+ compatible out of the box. There's no way they're doing this bundle with incompatible parts. Either they're new revision with updated bios, or pre-updated by OCUK.

Which means that this is the absolute cheapest you can get a 2nd gen Ryzen bundle guaranteed to work out of the box. The problem with buying the parts separate is exactly as you mentioned, and the cheapest x470 boards add another £30-40 I believe.

And then being never heard of is probably why so many people vote their …And then being never heard of is probably why so many people vote their products down and would prefer Corsair, even though they're basically identical for their ram kits (hynix based at least).8pack, the overclocker and guy who does the custom builds and overclocking bundles for OCUK uses Team Group Samsung Bdie ram all the time. They're some of the best you can get.Also, re: the x370 - that's why this is a great bundle. I'm assuming OCUK got a new batch of updated x370 gaming 3 motherboards which are Zen+ compatible out of the box. There's no way they're doing this bundle with incompatible parts. Either they're new revision with updated bios, or pre-updated by OCUK. Which means that this is the absolute cheapest you can get a 2nd gen Ryzen bundle guaranteed to work out of the box. The problem with buying the parts separate is exactly as you mentioned, and the cheapest x470 boards add another £30-40 I believe.

This got me thinking, wouldn't ryzen 7 1700 represent a better value at a similar price point (depending which motherboard you get) albeit not available for everyone as it's prime exclusive for £199.

This got me thinking, wouldn't ryzen 7 1700 represent a better value at a …This got me thinking, wouldn't ryzen 7 1700 represent a better value at a similar price point (depending which motherboard you get) albeit not available for everyone as it's prime exclusive for £199.

Well for pure gaming the 2600 will end up faster. It will overclock higher (about 300mhz more on average) and combined with the small IPC improvements and significant cache/memory latency improvements, there's no question there.

The 1700 would be worth it for video editors and other highly multithreaded apps, but the 2600 is what I would pick from the two, personally. It's also a good deal more expensive for the r7. But for some circumstances it's going to be better.

9th Jun

For anyone interested, here's a review of the Team Group L5 lite SSD series on Babeltech.

TL:DR it's a good, middle of the pack SSD available at exception prices. Good value for budget gamers.